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GREENS COME TO STEYER’S DEFENSE: The New York Times’ examination of the coal investments of Tom Steyer’s former hedge fund brought a response Friday from the heads of four big environmental groups, who praised the liberal billionaire for changing his ways. “We cannot undo the past, but we can step up and make changes that would improve our children’s future. Halting investments in dirty fuels is a key part of this choice — one that Tom Steyer, the former hedge fund manager featured in your article, and others have already undertaken,” says the letter to the editor from the leaders of the League of Conservation Voters, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Sierra Club and the Environmental Defense Fund. “Mr. Steyer has come a long way on this issue, as have many Americans. We should stop polluters and their allies from indicting some Americans for not knowing better sooner.” The letter: http://nyti.ms/1kSmFGu. And the Times’ story from July 5: http://nyti.ms/WaMxIi

HAPPY MONDAY and welcome to Morning Energy. I’m your host Andrew Restuccia, filling in for Alex Guillén for the day. Alex will be back tomorrow. In the meantime, send your best energy news to arestuccia@politico.com, and follow me on Twitter @AndrewRestuccia, @Morning_Energy and @POLITICOPro.

RUPERT MURDOCH TALKS CLIMATE CHANGE: News Corp chairman Rupert Murdoch, in an interview Sunday with an Australian news outlet, offered one option for dealing with the effects of climate change: “[W]e can’t mitigate that, we can’t stop it, we just have to stop building vast houses on seashores,” he said, downplaying the threat of a changing climate. More from the interview: “Climate change has been going on as long as the planet is here. And there will always be a little bit of it. At the moment the north pole is melting but the south pole is getting bigger. Things are happening. How much of it are we doing, with emissions and so on? As far as Australia goes? Nothing in the overall picture.” The Guardian has more: http://bit.ly/W9W02G

NOAA TIES AUSTRALIAN RAIN DECLINE TO CLIMATE CHANGE: A new model designed by NOAA scientists finds that southwestern Australia’s decline in rainfall is primarily caused by human-induced increases in greenhouse gas emissions. "This model is a major step forward in our effort to improve the prediction of regional climate change, particularly involving water resources,” Tom Delworth, a research scientist at NOAA's Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory in New Jersey, said in a statement. Here’s a summary of the research, which was just published in the journal Nature Geoscience: http://1.usa.gov/1mZ3oJ5

REPORT: EPA CLIMATE RULES OFFER MORE BENEFITS THAN COSTS: EPA's proposed regulations to cut emissions of carbon dioxide from existing power plants will bring some costs, but "such costs will be much lower than the benefits to public health and to the overall economy from lower CO2 and other air emissions," according to a new report out today from the Analysis Group. EPA's plan gives states flexibility and tools needed to implement their plans and minimize costs, and states can use market-based mechanisms like regional cap-and-trade programs or a price on carbon, the report says. “Based on our analysis and experience, we believe that the impacts on electricity rates from well-designed CO2-pollution control programs will be modest in the near term, and can be accompanied by long-term benefits in the form of lower electricity bills and positive economic value to states’ and regional economies.” Read the report, which was funded by the Energy Foundation and the Merck Family Fund: http://bit.ly/1oqQUFB

NRECA BASHES EPA RULE IN NEW AD: The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association is running a new television ad on Fox News and RFD TV that warns of higher electricity prices from EPA’s climate regulations for power plants. The ad will run from today [July 14] until Aug. 10, and will appear in the D.C. market on MSNBC when Congress is in session in July and September. An NRECA spokesman said it’s a six-figure ad buy. The ad: http://bit.ly/1kSeD0d

EPA RACKS UP ANOTHER COURT WIN: Via The Associated Press: “A federal appeals court on Friday upheld the Obama administration's environmental protections designed to reduce water pollution from mountaintop-removal coal mining. In a 3-0 decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said the Environmental Protection Agency acted within its authority when it instituted two measures under the Clean Water Act that address damage from surface mining.” More from the AP: http://huff.to/1sbhuJf And read the decision here: http://1.usa.gov/1sQ2VZf

ICYMI — GREENS FURIOUS OVER EX-IM COAL PROVISIONS: Eleven environmental groups sent a letter to lawmakers Friday calling on them to reject Export-Import Bank legislation proposed by Sen. Joe Manchin that would eliminate restrictions on the bank’s ability to finance overseas coal projects. “Our organizations vehemently oppose Senator Manchin’s proposal (and any similar proposal in the House) to weaken the existing climate policies and instead advocate for the elimination of fossil fuel and coal projects from the Export-Import Bank’s repertoire in the coming reauthorization process,” the letter says. Read it here: http://bit.ly/1r8Hrco

EMPIRE STATE TO RELEASE OIL TRAIN ROUTES: New York will disclose the routes and frequency of trains carrying volatile Bakken crude through the state after denying a request from CSX and Canadian Pacific Railway to keep the information private. Montana has already released data on its oil-by-rail shipments, reporting that as many as six million gallons of Bakken crude goes through Billings, the state’s largest city, each week. The Democrat & Chronicle has more: http://on.rocne.ws/1m8NvK5

TEXAS GRAPPLES WITH PROSPECT OF LOCAL FRACKING BAN: Railroad Commission of Texas Chairman Barry Smitherman urged the mayor and city council in Denton, Texas, to reject a petition to ban fracking within the city’s borders. “Those advocating for a ban on hydraulic fracturing know that what they are really calling for is ban on drilling,” Smitherman wrote. “And, they are calling for a ban on oil and gas drilling, one of the key pillars of our Texas economy, without citing any concrete examples of hydraulic fracturing negatively impacting public health.” Officials are set to have a public hearing Tuesday on the proposed ban. The letter: http://bit.ly/U8Bn5l

MOVERS AND SHAKERS: Environment America spokeswoman Mariam Baksh is leaving the green group to pursue a master’s degree in journalism and public affairs.

— Vox examines the congressional proposal to steer money away from cleanup of leaking underground storage tanks and use the cash for roads: http://bit.ly/1weP52D. (Also see POLITICO Pro Transportation’s coverage from last week: http://politico.pro/1ydy7ET)